New uses for old real estate

The end of a retailer is invariably a new beginning for a good piece of real estate.

Take for example, the 175,078-square-foot WestDayl Plaza shopping center, in Baraboo, Wis. U-Haul recently acquired the 16.1-acre property, which is vacant except for its Festival Foods supermarket anchor. U-Hail will convert the center’s former JCPenney and Sears anchor stores into a 175,078-square-foot climate-controlled storage facility, with an adjacent truck and equipment rental office. The renovation is expected to be complete next year. Festival Foods will remain, renting its space from U-Haul.

U-Haul was drawn to the location because it offered expansive, available retail space, Adam Sonnleitner, president of the U-Haul Co. of Southwestern Wisconsin and Rockford, told the Baraboo News Republic.

Meanwhile, developer The Carpianoto Group is making lemonade out of the failure of a beloved 93-year-old Rhode Island discount retailer, Benny’s. Carpianato has acquired 29 of the now-defunct chain’s 31 stores in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut and plans to spend $100 million to convert them into new retail and food uses. These will likely include big-box retailers such as Bed Bath and Beyond, and cafes like Starbucks and Carpionato, spokesman Kelly Coates told Rhode Island Public Radio.